egregiously imposâ—d upon for there was no way to come at the Town but through Parts of Germany that were in the hands of Spain and so the Spaniards continued Masters of Frankendale When several other Princes were some time after upon entring into a League for Restitution of the Palatinate and the House of Austria was beginning to doubt the Success Gundomar play'd another Engine to break their Measures by proposing a Match with the Infanta of Spain for the Prince of Wales as the easiest and surest way to restore the Palatine Family which like all the rest was only to amuse King Iames and was equally unsuccessful It were too long to give the Detail of King Iames's Conduct in this Affair which was all of a piece The Author sums up the ills that attended it in this That thereby the Protestant Religion was entirely rooted out of Bohemia the Electoral Dignity transferr'd from the Palatine Family the Palatinate it self lost the Liberty of Germany overthrown and which he mentions with a sensible Regret the famous Library of Heidelburgh was carried to Rome to the irreparable Prejudice of Learning So that Gundomar had good reason to say in one of his Letters to the Duke of Lerma printed in the History of that Duke's Life That he had lull'd King James so fast asleep that he hop'd neither the Cries of his Daughter nor her Children nor the repeated Sollicitations of his Parliament and Subjects in their behalf should be able to awaken him There are two Passages more very observable in this Author The Court of Spain finding King Iames had broke off the Spanish Match and was brought to see how egregiously he had been abus'd in it they ventur'd upon a bold Attempt to trouble his Affairs by whispering in his Ears some things to make him jealous of his Son And that a good while after when King Charles and his Parliament were entring upon vigorous Measures to espouse the Palatine Cause they found ways to sow Divisions between him and his People that in progress of time broke out into a Civil War The latter needs no Commentary and the former is sufficiently explain'd Hacket's Life of Bâ— William by what a late Author has writ in the Life of Bishop Williams concerning that Prelate's being instrumental in making up some secret differences betwixt King Iames and his Son the Prince of Wales a little before King Iames's Death Spanhemius sums up what relates to this Affair with this Remark That never Prince was more oblig'd to a Sister than King Charles the First was to the Queen of Bohemia since it was only the Consideration of her and her Children who were then the next Heirs to the Crown of England that prevail'd with the Court of Spain to permit him to see England again As in most Foreign Transactions King Iames was unhappy In the Interdict of Venice so more particularly in the difference between Pope Paul V. and the Venetians There appear'd at that time a wonderful Disposition in that State to work a Reformation in the Church and throw off the Papal Yoke In order to advance it King Iames dispatch'd Sir Henry Wotton his Ambassador to Venice and hearing that Spain had declar'd for the Pope he declar'd for the Venetians and acquainted Iustiniani their Ambassador in England That he would not only assist Them with all the Forces of his Kingdom but engage all his Allies in their Defence At Sir Henry Wotton's Arrival the Breach between the Pope and the Republick was brought very near a Crisis so that a total Separation was expected not only from the Court but the Church of Rome which was set on by the Learned Padre Paulo and the Seven Divines of the State with much Zeal and conducted with as great Prudence The Ambassador at his Audience offer'd all possible Assistance in his Master's Name and accus'd the Pope and Papacy of being the chief Authors of all the Mischiefs in Christendom This was receiv'd with great Deference and Respect to King Iames And when the Pope's Nuncio objected That King Iames was not a Catholick and so was not to be rely'd upon the Doge took him up briskly and told him That the King of England believ'd in Iesus Christ but he did not know in whom some others believ'd King Iames had sent with Wotton his Premonition to all Christian Princes and States translated into Latin to be presented to the Senate which Padre Paulo and the other Divines press'd might be done at his first Audience telling him they were confident it would have a very good effect The Ambassador could not be prevail'd with alledging he had positive Orders to wait till St. Iames's Day which was not far off This Conceit of presenting K. Iames's Book on St. Iames's Day spoil'd all for before that day came the Difference was made up and that happy Opportunity lost So that when he had his Audience on St. Iames's Day and had presented the Book all the Answer he got was That they thank'd the King of England for his good will but they were now reconcil'd to the Pope and that therefore they were resolv'd not to admit of any Change in their Religion according to their Agreement with the Court of Rome How little Reputation he acquir'd in the Matter of the Venetian Interdict appears yet more plainly in this That in all the numerous Collections we have of Letters that pass'd on that Subject between the Cardinals of Ioyeuse and Perron the Marquis de Fresnes and Henry IV. there is not the least notice taken of King Iames or his Embassy To have done with King Iames it was said That he divided his time betwixt his Standish his Bottle and his Hunting The last had his fair Weather the two former his dull and cloudy and therefore that it was no wonder his Writings were so variable and that after he had pleaded for Witchcraft and the Pope's being Antichrist Somerset's Affair and the Spanish Match cur'd him of both After having enjoy'd for the most part of his Life a firm Health he died of a Quartan Ague in the Fifty ninth Year of his Age and with such suspicious Circumstances as gave occasion of Enquiry into the manner of his Death in the two first Parliaments that were call'd by his Son all which came to nothing by reason of their sudden Dissolutions King Charles the First came to the Crown under all the Disadvantages that have been mention'd The Reign of King Charlâ—s I. and yet the Nation might have hop'd that their Condition would be mended under a Prince of so much Virtue as indeed he was if the Seeds of Discontent which were sown in his Father's time had not every day taken deeper Root and acquir'd new Growth through the Ill Management of his Ministers rather than any Wilful Errors of his own Some of them drove so fast that it was no wonder the Wheels and Chariot broke And it was in great part to the indiscreet Zeal of a
Restoration yet the bare Name of an English Parliament though but the Shadow of what formerly it was continued to be so Terrible abroad that neither France nor Spain durst venture to give King Charles the least Assistance to regain his Throne but on the contrary were oblig'd to treat him in a manner altogether unworthy of a Crown'd Head As appears by the following Instance at the Treaty of the Pyrenees The Behaviour of the French and Spaniards to K Charles II at 〈◊〉 Treaty of the Pyrences King Charles after having in vain sought a Sanctuary in France was necessitated to throw himself upon the Friendship of Spain He was at Brussels when he receiv'd the News of the Disposition that was in England to Restore him just at the time the Conferenâ—es were to begin between Cardinal Mazarine and Lewis de Haro the Two Plenipotentiaries of France and Spain in order to a General Peace This determin'd King Charles to take Post from Brussels through France to the Place of Treaty that he might in Person represent his Interests to these Two Ministers He judg'd the Spaniards had reason to be Enemies to the then Government in England for not only having taken Dunkirk and Iamaica from them and enterâ—d into a League with Portugal against them but for endeavouring all that was possible to persuade the French to continue the War Upon the other hand it was but reasonable to think that France could not be well pleas'd to see the English Master of such a Frontier Town as Dunkirk or that Mazarine the most Ambitious Man upon Earth would not be willing to raise his own Glory by espousing the Cause of an Exil'd Prince especially when there was so great probability of Success Notwithstanding all these plausible Appearances King Charles made this long Journey to no purpose It 's true Lewis de Haro receiv'd him with all possible Marks of Respect But the Cardinal positively denied him Access All he could be brought to after several Messages from the King was to allow the Duke of Ormond to talk to him upon the Road from St. Iean de Luz to the Place of Treaty as if it had been but an accidental Rencounter Ormond obtain'd nothing of the Cardinal but general and ambiguous Answers Till being press'd he told Ormond plainly That all his Master could do for his Cousin the King of England was to compassionate his Misfortunes as not being in a condition himself to break with the Government of England with which his Affairs oblig'd him to keep a good Correspondence Over and above this Neglect of Mazarine's King Charles had the Mortification to see Ambassador Lockhart receiv'd at the same time with the greatest Pomp and Splendor having the Cardinal's Coaches and Guards sent a day's Journey to receive him and the Cardinal giving him the Right Hand which was a Respect he denied the Ambassadors of Crown'd Heads Nor was Lewis de Haro kinder upon the matter to King Charles notwithstanding all his Civilities for having ask'd the Command of the Army in Flanders which the Prince of Conde was by the Treaty oblig'd to quit Don Lewis refus'd it All which will be a lasting Example to Posterity how little Trust is to be repos'd in Foreign Aid when a Prince comes to need it for recovering his Throne It were the highest Injustice to deny General Monk the greatest share of the Honour in Restoring King Charles II. Monk's part in the Restoration and yet it is a question whether his Design to do it was of so long standing as some have reported It 's probable he had not Thoughts that way till about the time that Richard Cromwell was depriv'd of the Government In which he was afterwards the more confirm'd upon the Army in England's setting up once more for themselves If he had really a form'd Intention at that time to bring back the King it must be confess'd he acted the part of a Politician much better than that of a Christian for he declar'd once again at that time for a Commonwealth without the King a Single Person or House of Lords and formally Renounc'd the Family of the Stuarts All which will appear by a Letter sign'd by him and his Officers to the Parliament upon Richard's Abdication and the Declaration it self Appendix Numb 11. mention'd at length in the Appendix It 's hardly to be imagin'd he had a mind to set up for himself as his Enemies have given out for he could not but see the whole Nation was returning apace to their Ancient Monarchical Principles and therefore he had little else to do but to comply a while with the Times till by declaring for a Free Parliament he pav'd the way for the King's Return It 's certain the People that then assum'd the Supreme Power were jealous of his Intentions and it was within an Ace he escap'd a Trap laid for him just at the time when he was ready to march from Scotland which would have inevitably ruin'd his Design if a mere Accident had not interven'd For Monk keeping his ordinary Residence at Dalkeith some four Miles on this side of Edinburgh the London Packet touch'd constantly there that the General might have his Letters before it reach'd Edinburgh The Committee of Safety being resolv'd to secure Monk dispatch'd secret Orders to Scotland by the ordinary Packet lest an Express might give suspicion and instead of directing the Label for Dalkeith as was usual it was order'd straight for Edinburgh It happenâ—d that one of Monk's Lifeguard met accidentally the Post turning out of the Road that led to Dalkeith and finding he had not touch'd there he brought him back notwithstanding the Label was directed otherwise Monk suspecting something open'd all the Letters that he found directed to the Officers of the Army among which there was one from the Committee of Safety to Colonel Thomas Wilks ordering him to use the most effectual speedy and secret way to secure the Person of General Monk and to send him up to London under a strong Guard in a Frigat that lay in Leith Road and then to take upâ—n him the Command of the Army till further Order Having taken out this and what other Letters he thought fit together with his own from the same Committee full of high Compliments and Expressions of Trust he sent away the Packet as it was directed But having communicated the matter to some of his particular Friends he gave Orders for a General Review of the Army to be made next morning at Edinburgh where he arrested Colonel Wilks and some other Officers he had reason to suspect and sent them Prisoners to the Castle filling up their Commissions with others of his own Creatures Monk in his March through England and after he came to London carried on the Thread of Dissimulation with wonderful dexterity till all things were fully ripe for throwing off the Mask and calling home the King As he was singularly happy in being the Chief Instrument of
me and having formerly serv'd me on several Occasions and always approv'd the Loyalty of their Principles by their Practices I think them now fit to be Employ'd under me and will deal plainly with you That after having had the benefit of their Services in such time of need and danger I will neither expose them to Disgrace nor my self to the Want of them if there should be another Rebellion to make them necessary to me And at last he tells them That he was afraid some may hope that a difference might happen betwixt Him and his Parliament on that occasion which he cannot apprehend can befal him or that any thing can shake them in their Loyalty to him who will ever make all returns of kindness and protection and venture his Life in the Defence of the true Interest of the Nation It was no wonder That this Speech surpriz'd a people who valu'd themselves so much upon their Liberties and thought themselves secure of them both from the Constitution of their Government and the solemn repeated promises of their Prince They found too late that their fears in the former Reign of a Popish Successor were too well grounded and how inconsistent a Roman Catholick King is with a Protestant Kingdom The Parliament did in humble manner represent the inconvenience that might attend such Measures The Parliaments Address to K. Iames upon that Speech at least to render him inexcusable for what might Ensue And that they might not be wanting to themselves and their Posterity they Voted an Address wherein they told him That they had with all duty and readiness taken into Consideration His Majesty's Gracious Speech And as to that part of it relating to the Officers of the Army not qualified for their Employment according to the Act of Parliament they did out of their bounden duty humbly Represent to His Majesty That these Officers could not by Law be capable of their Employments and that the Incapacities they bring upon themselves that way could no ways be taken off but by an Act of Parliament Therefore out of that great Reverence and Duty they ow'd to His Majesty they were preparing a Bill to indemnify them from the inconveniences they had now incurr'd And because the continuing them in their Employments may be taken to be a dispensing with Law without an Act of Parliament the consequence of which was of the greatest concern to the Rights of all his Subjects and to all the Laws made for the security of their Religion Therefore they most humbly beseech His Majesty That he would be graciously pleas'd to give such Directions therein that no Apprehensions or Iealousies might remain in the hearts of his Subjects Over and above what was contain'd in this Address the House of Commons were willing to capacitate by an Act of Parliament such a Number of the Roman Catholick Officers as King Iames should give a List of But both this Offer and the Address was highly resented and notwithstanding that they were preparing a Bill for a considerable Supply to Answer his extraordinary Occasions and had sent to the Tower one of their Members for speaking indecently of his Speech King Iames was influenc'd to part with this his first and only Parliament in displeasure upon the Fourth day after they presented the Address As his former Speeches to his Council and Parliament had put a Foreign Court to a Stand what to think of him so this last put them out of pain and convinc'd them he was intirely Theirs Their sense of it can hardly be better express'd than in a Letter from Abroad contain'd in the Appendix Appendix Numb 17. which by its Stile though in another Hand seems to be from the same Minister that writ the two former In which he tells the Ambassador here That he needed not a surer Character of King James and his Intentions than this last Speech to the Parliament by which they were convinc'd of his former Resolution to throw off the Fetters which Hereticks would impose upon him and to act for the time to come En Maistre as Master A word till then altogether Foreign to the English Constitution What other Effects this Speech had upon the Minds of People at Home and Abroad may be easily guess'd from the different Interests they had in it Nor is it to be pass'd over without some Remark That the Revocation of the Edict of Nants which probably had been some time under Consideration before was now put in Execution to the Astonishment of all Europe The Parliament being dissolv'd and no visible means left to retrieve the Liberties of England King Iames made haste to accomplish the Grand Design which a head strong Party about him push'd on as the certain way in their opinion to Eternize his Name in this World and to merit an Eternal Crown in the other They foresaw that this was the Critical Iuncture and the only one that happen'd since the days of Queen Mary to Restore their Religion in England And if they were wanting to themselves in making use of it the prospect of a Protestant Successor would infallibly prevent their having any such opportunity for the future King Iames was pretty far advanc'd in years and what was to be done requir'd Expedition for all their labour would be lost if he should die before the accomplishment If he had been Younger or the next presumptive Heir had not been a Protestant there had been no such absolute necessity for Dispatch But the Uncertainty of the King's Life call'd for more than ordinary diligence in a Design that depended meerly upon it The Party being resolv'd for these Reasons to bring about in the Compass of one Single Life and that already far spent what seem'd to be the Work of a whole Age they made large steps towards it Roman-Catholicks were not only Employ'd in the Army but brought into Places of greatest Trust in the State The Earl of Clarendon was forthwith remov'd from the Office of Privy-Seal and the Government of Ireland to make room for the Earl of Tyrconel in the one and the Lord Arundel in the other Father Peters a Iesuit was sworn of the Privy Council And though by the Laws it was High-Treason for any to assume the Character of the Pope's Nuncio A Pope's Nuncio in England yet these were become too slender Cobwebs to hinder a Roman Prelate to appear publickly at London in that Quality Duke of Somerset and one of the greatest Peers of England was disgrac'd for not paying him that Respect which the Laws of the Land made Criminal To bear the Publick Character of Ambassador to the Pope An Ambâ—ssador sent to Rome was likewise an open Violation of the Laws But so fond was the governing Party about King Iames to show their new-acquir'd Trophies at Rome that the Earl of Castlemain was dispatch'd thither Extraordinary Ambassador with a Magnificent Train and a most Sumptuous Equipage What his Secret Instructions were may be
partly guess'd by his Publick ones which were To Reconcile the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland to the Holy See from which they had for more than an Age fallen off by Heresy Innocent XI And slighted by the Pope receiv'd this Embassy as one that saw further than those who sent it The Ambassador had but a cold Reception of the Holy Father and none of the Cardinals but those of a particular Faction and the good-natur'd Cardinal of Norfolk took any further notice of it than Good Manners oblig'd them The Court of Rome were too refin'd Politicians to be impos'd upon with Show and Noise and knew the World too well to expect great Matters from such hasty ill-tim'd Advances as were made to them Not only so but Innocent having an Aversion in his Nature to a Faction he knew King Iames was embark'd in which he never took pains to dissemble was not over-fond of an Embassy from a Prince who was in an Interest he had long wish'd to see humbled King Iames met with nothing but Mortifications at Rome in the Person of his Ambassador which occasion'd his making as short a Stay as was possible In which may be seen the vast difference there was at that time betwixt the Politicks of Italy and those of a head-strong Party in England And however the World has been impos'd upon to believe that the Pope's Nuncio at the English Court who is since made a Cardinal was an Instrument to push on things to extremities yet certain it is he had too much good sense to approve of all the Measures that were taken and therefore desir'd often to be recall'd lest he should be thought to have a hand in them Although the Earl of Castlemain was pleas'd upon his Examination before the Parliament to say that his Embassy to Rome was only such as is between Two Temporal Princes about Compliment and Commerce yet Father Warner in his Manuscript History quoted by a Learned Author * Dr. Gee's Animadversions on the Iesuits Memorial for the Intended Reformation of England under the first Popish Prince London 1690. gives us another account of it in these words Things being thus setled says he within the Realm the next care his Majesty had was to unite his Countries to the Obedience of the Bishop of Rome and the Apostolick See which had been cut off by Heresy about an Age and a half before To try the Pope's Inclination In the Year 1685. he sent Mr. Carryl thither who succeeding according to his Wishes and being recall'd the Earl of Castlemain was sent the next Year as Extraordinary Ambassador to the Pope in the Name of the King and the Catholicks of England to make their Submission to the Holy See Castlemain had several Audiences of the Pope but to little purpose for whenever he began to talk of Business the Pope was seasonably attack'd with a Fit of Coughing which broke off the Ambassador's Discourse for that time and oblig'd him to retire These Audiences and Fits of Coughing continued from time to time while Castlemain continued at Rome and were the subject of diversion to all but a particular Faction at that Court. At length he was advis'd to come to Threats and to give out that he would be gone since he could not have an opportunity to treat with the Pope about the Business he came for Innocent was so little concern'd for the Ambassador's Resentment that when they told him of it he answer'd with his ordinary Coldness E bene se vuol andarsene ditegli adonque che si levi di buon matino al fresco e che a mezzo giorno si reposi per che in questi paesi non bisogna viaggiare al caldo del giorno Well! let him go and tell him It were fit he rise early in the Morning that he may rest himself at Noon for in this Countrey it 's dangerous to travel in the Heat of the Day In the end he was recall'd being able to obtain of the Pope two trifling Requests only that could hardly be denied to an ordinary Courier The one was a License for the Mareschal d' Humiers's Daughter to marry her Vncle Mercure Historick pour Iune 1687. And the other a Dispensation of the Statutes of the Iesuits Order to Father Peters to enjoy a Bishoprick The want of which says my Author was the reason that the Archbishoprick of York was kept so long vacant Though the Pope carried himself in this manner towards the English Ambassador The Jesuits Noble Entertainment of the English Ambassador at Rome yet the Iesuits paid him the highest Respect imaginable which did him no service with the Old Man for He and That Order were never hearty Friends They entertain'd him in their Seminary with the greatest Magnificence and nothing was wanting in Nature or Art to grace his Reception All their Stores of Sculpture Painting Poetry and Rhetorick seem to have been exhausted upon this Entertainment And though all the Inscriptions and Emblems did center upon the Triumph of the Romish Religion and the Ruin of Heresy in England yet Care was taken not to omit such particular Trophies and Devices as were adapted to their new-acquir'd Liberty of setting up their Publick Schools at London Among a great many other Panegyricks upon King Iames the following Distich was plac'd below an Emblem of England Restituit Veterem tibi Religionis honorem Anglia Magnanimi Regis aperta sides The open Zeal of this Magnanimous King has restor'd to England its Ancient Religion There was also this Inscription put round King Iames's Picture Potentissimo Religiosissimo Magnae Britanniae REGI JACOBO II. Generosâ Catholicae Fidei Confessione Regnum Auspicanti ET INNOCENTIO XI P. M. Per Legatum Nobilissimum Sapientissimum D. Rogerium Palmerium Comitem de Castelmain Obsequium deferenti Collegium Romanum Regia Virtutâ—m Insignia dedicat To the most Potent and most Religious JAMES the Second King of Great Britain beginning his Reign with the Generous Confession of the Catholick Faith AND Paying his Obedience to Pope INNOCENT XI By the most Noble and most Wise D. Roger Palmer Earl of Castlemain The Roman College Dedicates These Royal Emblems of his Virtues In the Great Hall the Ambassador was Harangued by the Rector of the College in a Latin Speech which to show the vain Hopes they had of King Iames and their own Fortune at that time is plac'd in the Appendix Appendix Numb 18. Nouveau Voyage d' Italie Edit 3. Tom. 2. Par Monsicur Misson with a Translation of it into English Referring the Reader for the rest of that Solemnity to an Ingenious Gentleman that was then upon the Place and has given a particular Account of it But yet it may not be amiss to mention what the same Gentleman tells us of a Device that related to King Iames's having a Son which was A Lilly from whose Leaves there distill'd some Drops of Water which as the Naturalists say
than the King 's and with the more cheerfulness for by this time he had parted on ill terms with his Parliament and without obtaining a Supply While the King was advancing towards the North the Scots drew to their Borders and it was debated at several Councils of War where a Committee of Estates assisted Whether they should expect the King upon the Borders as they had done before or march into England and carry the War out of their own Countrey But they had taken no Resolution in the matter before the King was got as far as York In this nice Juncture there came a Gentleman to the English Border who sent a Message to the Earl of Rothes That he desir'd to acquaint him with a Matter of the greatest Importance and Secresy if he might privately and with safety speak with him alone Rothes thereupon sent a Trusty Servant with a Passport to conduct him to his Quarters where the Gentleman told him That he was directed particularly to him as a Person of great Honour and whom they could safely trust with a Message from several Great Men of England who were griev'd for the Ruin they foresaw must necessarily attend their Country if the King should make himself Absolute Master of Scotland seeing after that they were to expect the same Fate considering how little to the King's satisfaction things had been carried in the Parliament of England and how much he had resented their refusing a Subsidy to carry on this War He told him That nothing was so much desir'd in England as a Free Parliament to redress their Grievances And if the Scots would march immediately into England the King must necessarily be straitned to that degree in his Affairs as to be oblig'd to call a Parliament And that upon their March the City of London and the greatest part of the Nobility and Gentry would not only petition the King for a Free Parliament but likewise mediate between the King and them and bring matters to such an Accommodation as might be for the good of both Nations Adding withal That if the Scots slipt this Opportunity they were never to expect the like again The Gentleman having deliver'd this Message gave the Earl a Letter directed to him and sign'd by about Twelve Noblemen much to the same purpose but writ more cautiously and in more general terms desiring him for a further Explanation to give entire Credit to the Bearer whom they had fully inform'd of their Intentions Rothes with the Gentleman's leave acquainted General Lesley afterwards Earl of Leven and one or two of the most Leading Men of the Committee of Estates with this Message and upon solemn Promises of Secrecy show'd them the Letter both which agreeing so well in the main with the Intelligence they had receiv'd from England and suiting with their own Inclinations determin'd them in the Point And next morning in the Council of War It was resolv'd to march into England that Afternoon which accordingly they did Rothes in the mean time dispatch'd back the Messenger with an Answer to the Noblemen he suppos'd had writ to him Thanking them for their Advice and acquainting them with the Resolution had been taken thereupon It fell out afterwards at the Treaty of Rippon when the English and Scotch Commissioners grew familiar with one another that the Earl of Rothes came from Newcastle to the Place of Treaty and one of the English Noblemen making him a Visit they fell into Discourse about the present Juncture of Affairs The English Nobleman express'd how much he had been surpriz'd upon the first News of the Scots entring into England and told him That though he hop'd it would now turn to the Advantage of both Nations yet it was in it self a dangerous and rash Attempt and might have been fatal to the Scots if the King had not been pleas'd to enter into a Treaty for an Accommodation of Matâ—ers in dispute between them Rothes was at a stand what to make of this Discourse considering this Nobleman was one of those whose Name was to the Letter formerly mention'd and therefore answer'd That he wondred his Lordship was surpriz'd at an Action he had so much influenc'd And that if it had not been for the Invitation of himself and his Friends perhaps the Scots â—rmy might have continued still on the other side of Tweed The Two Lords being equally in the dark as to one another's meaning were at length upon producing of the Letter both of them undeceiv'd and found it was a mere Forgery which was afterwards acknowledg'd by the Contriver who was the Lord Savile created some time after Earl of Sussex This Letter though forgotten now was much talk'd of during the Civil Wars And I have seen several Original Papers of those Times that mention'd it A Noble Lord lately dead whose Name was to the Letter never made any scruple of telling this Passage to his Friends in the manner I have related it And I once had a Copy of the Letter it self from the Original which was then and I believe is still among the Papers of the Noble Family of Rothes which I have since lost I must confess I have dwelt longer upon this matter than consists with the Brevity I intended and that it might have been more properly mention'd in another place Yet thus it was that a Counterfeit Invitation brought the Scots into England in the Year 1640. And considering the Consequences it may be said That Providence many times seems to play with Human Affairs and influences the Fate of Kingdoms by Counsels and Measures the most improbable to succeed if he had not design'd them to be subservient to his great Ends. There is an Historian for whom I have the highest Veneration Bishop of Salisbury's Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton who in his Memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton mentions a Passage not unlike to this and perhaps it may be the very same though his Relation and mine differ in the time and some other Circumstances And seeing I happen'd to look into that Book some time after I had writ these Sheets that I may do Justice to its Reverend Author whose Information I am willing to believe may be better than my own though I had mine from no common Hands I shall give his Account of it in his own words and the rather for that I do not remember the Date of the Letter upon which the Passage turns though I do the main Design and Contents of it But that the Reader may not be wholly in the dark says this Great Historian about the Grounds of this Confidence the Covenanters had I shall set down what I had from some Persons of Great Honour who were fully inform'd about it When the Earls of Dumfermling and Loudon came to London a Person of Quality of the English Nation whose Name is suppress'd because of the Infamy of this Action came to them and with great Vehemence press'd them to engage in a new War
fully acquainted with the Native Strength and peculiar Interest of the Nation I mean the Affairs of the Navy in which he had acquir'd deservedly a great Reputation He had met with but too many occasions to understand the Genius and Temper of the People he was to govern and to know how far it was impracticable to overturn the Establish'd Religion or to introduce a New one for he had wrestled through a great many Difficulties upon the account of his own He could not but have a true value for hâ—s Brother's great Parts and Abilities and be acquainted with the Arts by which he gain'd and preserv'd the Affections of his People notwithstanding all the Hardships he had been induc'd sometimes to put upon them And he had seen how fearful and averse he had been to push things too far or to drive his Subjects to Extremitities He had before him the Fatal Example of a Father who though he was a Protestant yet upon a false Suspicion of having a Design to introduce Popery was sent to his Grave by a violont Death and he was almost a Man when that Tragedy happen'd and had suffer'd Ten Years Banishment among other Consequences that attended it He had been acquainted abroad with a Princess fam'd for Parts and Learning who Resign'd her Crown apprehending she might be divested of it for embracing the Romish Religion by those very Subjects that held her before in the greatest Veneration both upon her own account and that of a Father who had rais'd them to the highest Pitch of Glory that ever the Suedish Nation arriv'd to And he might have remembred what his Mother said upon her Return to Somerset-house after the Restoration That if she had known the Temper of the People of England some Years past as well as she did then she had never been oblig'd to leave that House But the History of his Ancestors might have more fully inform'd him Tâ—at those that grasp'd at Immoderate Power or a Prerogative above the Law were always Unfortunate and their Reigns Inglorious There was also a Passage at his Father's Death which he would have done well to have observ'd He deliver'd his George to Dr. Iuxon upon the Scaffold and bid him Remember without saying more The Council of State was willing to know the meaning of that Expression and call'd the Doctor before them to give them an Account of it who told them That the King immediately before his coming out to the Place of Execution had charg'd him to carry to the Prince his Son his George with these his Two last Commands That he should forgive his Murtherers And That if he ever came to the Crown he should so govern his Subjects as not to force them upon Extremities Over and above all this one of the best Historians of the Age Puffendorf ut supra who had the advantage of all the late Elector of Brandenburgh's Papers and Memoirs acquaints us That King Charles the Second delivering to King Iames at his Death the Key of his Strong Box advis'd him not to think upon introducing the Romish Religion into England it being a thing that was both dangerous and impracticable And that the late Don Pedro Ronquillor the Spanish Ambassador at his first Audience after the Death of King Charles having ask'd leave to speak his mind freely upon that occasion made bold to tell him That he saw several Priests about him that he knew would importune him to alter the Establish'd Religion in England but he wish'd his Majesty would not give Ear to their Advice for if he did he was afraid his Majesty would have reason to repent of it when it was too late This Author tells us That King Iames took ill the Freedom of the Spanish Ambassador and ask'd him in Passion Whether in Spain they advis'd with their Confessors Yes Sir answer'd Ronquillor we do and that 's the reason our Affairs go so ill The same Historian does likewise inform us but he does not tell us upon what grounds Pope Innocent XI th's Letter to K Iames. That Pope Innocent XI writ a Letter to King Iames upon his Accession to the Crown to this purpose That he was highly pleas'd with his Majesty's Zeal for the Catholick Religion but he was afraid his Majesty might push it too far and instead of contributing to his own Greatness and to the Advancement of the Catholick Church he might come to do both It and himself the greatest Prejudice by attempting that which his Holiness was well assur'd from long Experience could not succeed This Letter does very well agree with what I shall have occasion to mention afterwards concerning the Earl of Castlemain's Embassy to Rome How far he profited by all these Advantages on the one hand and Examples and Advices on the other will appear in the Sequel The first Speech he made as King the day his Brother died gave hopes of a Happy Reign and even those that had appear'd with the greatest Warmth against him before were willing now to own themselves to have been mistaken and were ready to express their Repentance for what was past For he told them That since it had pleas'd Almighty God to place him in that Station and that he was now to succeed to so good and gracious a King as well as so very kind a Brother he thought fit to declare to them That he would endeavour to follow his Example and especially in that of his great Clemency and Tenderness to his People And that though he had been reported to be a Man for Arbitrary Power yet he was resolv'd to make it his Endeavour to preserve the Government of England both in Church and State as it was then Establish'd by Law That he knew the Principles of the Church of England were for Monarchy and that the Members of it had show'd themselves good and Loyal Subjeâ—ts therefore he would always take care of it and defend and support it That he knew that the Laws of England were sufficient to make the King as Great a Monarch as he could wish And that as he would never depart from the just Rights and Prerogatives of the Crown so he would never invade any manâ—s Property Concluding That as he had often hitherto ventur'd his Life in defence of this Nation so he was resolv'd to go as far as any man in preserving it in all its just Rights and Liberties If a Trajan or an Antoninus had been to lay down a Scheme of Government to make their People happy they could not have done it in better Terms nor could the Nation well desire or in reason wish for more If his subsequent Actions had come up to it he had eterniz'd his Name and might have reviv'd in himself the Memory of those of his Ancestors who have deservedly given them by Posterity the Character of Good and Great This promising Speech was not many days old nor King Charles's Ashes well cold when the Nation was alarm'd with a Proclamation
Author Notwithstanding these Difficulties and Discouragements that seem'd insuperable wonderful and surprizing were the Consequences of the Prince of Orange's Restoration As if that Family alone were design'd of Heaven to be the Founder and Restorer of Holland It fell out that immediately upon his being call'd to the Helm the whole Scene of their Affairs chang'd to the better At the Head of a small ill-disciplin'd Army discourag'd by continual Losses he not only put a Stop to the French Conquests but by taking first Naerden in spite of an Army near four times greater than his own and carrying afterwards the War out of his own Countrey he oblig'd the Enemy to abandon their Conquests in Holland as fast as they had gain'd them and be contented to retire to the Defence of their own Frontiers This War was attended with various Successes on all sides and most of the Princes of Europe came to be some way or other engag'd in it till at last it ended in the Treaty of Nimeguen The part King Charles acted in all these Transactions contributed but little to his Glory for he had been unsuccessful while he was engag'd in the War and when he came to be a Mediator for the Peace all Parties grew jealous of him and neglected him It was during the Course of this War as has been said before that King Charles aton'd for all the Errors of his Reign by marrying his Niece the Lady Mary to the Prince of Orange And whatever were the Motives that induc'd him to comply in this with the Universal Wishes of his People it has been found since that not only England but the greatest part of Europe do share at this day in the Blessings that have attended it By this Match the Prince of Orange had a double Interest in England both as a Prince of the Blood himself and in Right of his Princess the next Presumptive Heir He liv'd with King Charles in as much Friendship as was possible for one that would not enter into an Interest separate from that of his Country or of England Insomuch that in all the Endeavours that were made to exclude the Duke of York from the Crown he look'd on without espousing any of the Parties that struggled for or against the Bill of Exclusion though he knew it was design'd that He and the Princess should succeed upon the Death of King Charles When King Iames came to the Throne the Prince of Orange tried all possible means to cultivate a sincere Friendship with him and to persuade him to enter into such Measures as might tend to the Common Safety of Europe and the Happiness of England which if King Iames had given Ear to would have preserv'd the Crown upon his Head And so cautious was he of giving him no reasonable ground of Complaint that though in King Charles's time he had given a Generous Welcome to the Duke of Monmouth at the Request of that King upon his retiring to Holland Yet as soon as he knew that that unhappy Gentleman designâ—d to invade England upon King Iames's Accession to the Throne he offer'd to come over in Person to his Assistance and sent him with all Expedition the English and Scotch Troops that were in the Service of the States It had been happy for King Iames if he had complied with the Advice of the Prince of Orange or had not by his Success against Monmouth been push'd on to make the Steps that have bee mention'd together with a great many more for Brevity's sake here omitted towards his own Ruin and that of the Constitution of England But being flatter'd with the gaudy Charms of Absolute Power and the empty Merit of Restoring the Romish Religion he drove on without Controul till at last he forc'd the People of England upon an inevitable necessity of calling in the Prince of Orange to retrieve the expiring Liberties of their Countrey At the same time an indissoluble Friendship and Alliance which King Iames had enter'd into when Duke of York and had cultivated afterwards when he came to the Crown was a matter of that vast Consequence to the Neighbouring Princes and States as would not permit them to stand by as unconcern'd Spectators of the Scene that was acting in England but oblig'd them likewise to save recourse to the Prince of Orange for breaking off their own Fetters by breaking first those of England But by what Steps and concurring Accidents and with what surprizing Circumstances this Mighty Design came about may some time or other though perhaps not so properly in this Age be the Subject of a Second Part when it meets with one of more Leisure and Capacity to write it FINIS Addenda ad Page 36. Concerning the Reign of King James I. It may not be impertinent in this place to say something of that Convocation that was held in the beginning of this King's Reign Which had never been taken notice of in History if it were not for the use that was made of it in our late Debates about the Lawfulness of the Oaths to his present Majesty This Convocation goes under the name of Overall's Convocation and has been of late years often mentioned in Print upon that account And since a very Learned Divine has told us upon a solemn Occasion Dr. Sherlock That it was the Canons of this Convocation that first Enlightned his Eyes and persuaded him of the Lawfulness of the Oaths to his Majesty I shall only take notice of a few things about them It 's very probable that this Convocation was call'd to clear some Doubts that King Iames might have had about the Lawfulness of the Hollanders the 〈…〉 off the Monarchy of Spain 〈…〉 withdrawing for good and all their Allegiance to that Crown Which was the Great Matter then in Agitation in most Courts of Christendom It appears plainly by some of those Canons that the Highflown Notions of Prerogative and Absolute Obedience which came afterwards into fashion were not much known at that time at least the Clergy were not of that Opinion It 's true This was the first time that the Distinction of a King de jure and de facto was ever mention'd as a Point of Divinity or a Doctrine of the Church though it had been taken notice of before and that but once as a Matter of Law in an Act of Parliament of Henry 7. But these Canons did never receive the Royal Approbation and therefore are in the same case as if they had never been King Iames thought these Points too nice to be much touch'd upon and was highly displeas'd with the Members of that Convocation for medling in Matters which he thought were without their Sphere Thereupon he writ that angry Letter to Dr. Abbot afterwards Bishop of Sarum the Original of which it was my fortune to fall upon and to publish upon another Occasion It 's hop'd the Reader will not be displeas'd to read it again And it runs thus Good Doctor Abbot I Cannot abstain
regret the Hard Usage which the Protestants meet with in other Countries and wish they were but as well treated there as the Roman-Catholicks are here Before I have done I beg leave to take notice of a Pamphlet that came out last Summer call'd Cursory Remarks upon the Proceedings of the Last Session of Parliament The Gentleman that wrote it had not only the Honesty to publish an Answer to his own Book but in that Answer to insinuate that I was the Author of it All the Use I shall make of this unusual Liberty of the Press is to declare That I have not publish'd any one Paper Pamphlet or Book these Six Years And though I have but little Leisure and yet less Inclination to appear again in Print yet if ever I alter my Resolution and publish any thing hereafter I will certainly put my Name to it as I have done to these Memoirs THE CONTENTS THE Excellencies of the English Constitution and the various Changes that have happen'd in it Page 1 The State of England under Queen Elizabeth 3 Her Character 5 The Character of her Ministers particularly of Walsingham Cecil c. and of the Members of the House of Commons in her time 8 Her Conduct towards Mary Queen of Scots 15 King James the First 's Accession to the Crown and the Condition of England under his Reign 19 His Character 20 The Character and Deathof Prince Henry 23 The Character of the Queen of Bohemia and King James's Conduct in the Business of the Palatinate 27 The Fate of Sir Walter Raleigh 28 King James's Conduct in teh Interdict of Venice 34 King Charles the First 's Accession to the Crown and the Condition of England at that time 37 The Breach betwixt Archbishop Abbot and Bishop Laud 38 The Rise of King Charles's Troubles and the first and second War with the Scots 41 The meeting of the Parliament November 1640. 45 The Fall and Character of Wentworth Earl of Strafford 47 The Fall and Character of Archbishop Laud 55 The Famous Petition and Remonstrance of the state of the Nation and the King's Answer 61 His coming to the House of Commons in Person to demand the Five Members and the Consequences of it 63 His Leaving the Parliament and the beginning of the Civil Wars and who began it 66 The Treaty of Uxbridge how unsuccesful and the Marquis of Montrose's fatal Letter the Cause 63 The Character and Fall of King Charles the First 74 His Opinion of Defensive Arms in the bisiness of Rochel 79 The Character of his Favourite Buckingham 84 The true Cause of the Scot's coming into England being a forg'd Letter 91 King Charles's design beâ—ore his Death to Resign the Crown And the Army 's to set up the Duke of Gloucester 98 His Consulting the Sortes Virgilianae 100 The Vsurpation and Character of Oliver Cromwell 102 The Restoration of King Charles the Second and the Manner of it with Monk's part in it and the Risk Monk ran in Scotland 114 One of the true Causes of the Fall of Chancellor Clarendon 122 The discovery of the Popish Plot and its Consequences 123 The Bill of Exclusion the design of it and how manag'd 125 The Disgrace of the Duke of Monmouth and the Consequences of it 131 The Protestant Plot and the Effects of it 133 The Death of King Charles the Second and the Suspicions about the Manner of it discuss'd 135 His Character 143 The Reign of King James the Second 148 The Advantages and Examples he might have maâ—e use of 150 His Brother's and Pope Innocent II.'s Advice to him 152 His first Speech to his Privy Council 153 His first Speech to his Parliament 156 His Second Memorable Speech to his Parliament 157 Two Letters from a Foreign Minister to their Ambassador in England upon the occasion of this Speech 159 Monmouth's Invasion and the Grounds of it 160 Some Passages out of Monmouth's Pocket-Book 166 Monmouth's Character 167 His Letter in his Retirement 169 King James's Speech to the Parliament upon Monmouth's Defeat 171 The Parliament's Address thereupon 173 The Sense of a Foreign Minister of this last Speech 175 The Advances made to the Subversion of the English Constitution 177 King James's Ambassy to Rome and how received 178 The Panegyricks of King James upon that occasion 182 The Manner how King James had been treated by another Pope in his Marriage with the Princess of Modena 187 King James grants a Toleration of Religion 191 He assumes a dispensing Power 194 He sets up an Ecclesiastical Commission 197 The Suspension of the Bishop of London 198 The Proceedings against Magdalen-College 201 His Second Declaration for Liberty of Conscience 206 The Affair of the Seven Bishops 208 The Birth of a pretended Prince of Wales 212 A new Parliament design'd and to what end 213 The Prince and Princess of Orange's Opinion about the Penal Laws and Test and how obtain'd 215 The Army Modell'd 220 The Methods us'd in Ireland and Tyrconel's Advancement 222 The Regulating of the Corporations and the Severities against the Protestants 228 The Act of Attainder there 232 The Interest that Foreign States had in England 234 The Emperor's Letter to King James 236 The Interest of the Prince of Orange 237 The bad Circumstances of the House of Orange at the Birth of the Present Prince of Orange now King of England 238 How he came to be Restored in Holland 240 The Desolation of Holland in 1672 242 The Reasons of that Desolation 244 The Difficulty the Prince of Orange had to grapple with 247 The Duke of Luxemburgh's Cruelties at Swammerdam 249 The Affair of Overall's Convocation and how resented by King James 255 His Letter to Dr. Abbot on that Occasion 257 ERRATA PAGE 62. Line 14 15. for the King's Answer to it at its delivery read Answer to them at their delivery MEMOIRS Of the most Material Transactions in England c. THERE is not a Natiâ—n in Europe that from the Constitution of its Government might have promis'd it self a more firm and lasting Repâ—se than England And yet scarce any Kingdom we know upon Earth has suffered so many and various Convulsions As if some malevolent Planet had over-rul'd one of the best of Human Constitutions and by an unaccountable Fatality had render'd ineffectual all the Endeavours of our Ancestors to make themselves and their Posterity happy under a Limited Monarchy A Monarchy in which the Prerogative of the Prince and the Liberty of the People are so equally temper'd that there seems nothing wanting that may tend to the Happiness of either The King of England has the Glory to Rule over a Free People The Excellency of the English Constitution and the People of England that of being subject to a Monarch who by the Laws of the Countrey is invested with as much Power and Greatness as a Wise and Beneficent Prince can reasonably wish for To compleat all the Crown of England has been for many Ages Hereditary and fix'd in
he frequently ask'd it and particularly in a Printed Letter of his to Cecil The Honour of Knighthood though often prostituted since was in so great Esteem in her Reign that a Gentleman of Lincolnshire having rais'd Three hundred men for her Service at Tilbury Camp upon his own Interest told his Wife at parting That he hop'd thereby to deserve the Queen's Favour so far as that she should be a Lady at his Return She had a particular Friendship for Henry the Fourth of France and to her in a great measure he ow'd his Crown She never laid any thing more to heart than his changing his Religion And it was a long time before she could be brought to believe it But when she receiv'd the Account of it from himself all her Constancy fail'd her and in the Agony of her Grief snatching a Pen she writ him a short Expostulatory Letter worthy of her self Appendix Numb 4. and of that melancholy occasion which is related in the Appendix This her Grief says her Historian she sought to allay by reading the Sacred Scriptures and the Writings of the Fathers and even the Books of Philosophers translating about that time for an Amusement Boethius de Consolatione Philosophiae into Elegant English The only Action that seems to reflect upon her Memory was the Death of Mary Queen of Scots The Affair of Mary Stuart Q. of Scots There had been an Emulation betwixt them of a long standing occasioned at first by the latter's assuming the Arms and Title of Queen of England which it 's no wonder Queen Elizabeth highly resented A great many other Accidents did contribute to alienate their Affections But when it fell out that every day produc'd some new Conspiracy against the Life of Queen Elizabeth and that in most of them the Queen of Scots was concern'd either as a Party or the Occasion Queen Elizabeth was put upon a fatal Necessity of either taking off the Queen of Scots or exposing her own Person to the frequent Attempts of her Enemies With what Reluctancy Queen Elizabeth was brought to consent to her Death and how she was deceiv'd at last in Signing the Warrant for her Execution by the over diligence of her Secretary and Privy-Council Cambden her Celebrated Historian has given us a very full and impartial Account Yet Queen Elizabeth is not altogether excusable in this matter for Queen Mary came into England upon a Promise made her long before Queen Elizabeth sent her once a Ring and at the same time a Message That if at any time she wanted her Protection she might be assured of it and the Token betwixt them was Queen Mary's sending her back the same Ring That Unfortunate Princess seeing her Affairs desperate in Scotland dispatch'd a Letter to Queen Elizabeth with the Ring to put her in mind of her Promise but without waiting for an Answer she came into England the very next day They were both to be pitied the one for her Sufferings and the other for being the Cause of them And I have seen several Letters in the Cotton-Library of Queen Mary's Hand to Queen Elizabeth writ in the most moving Strain that could be most of them in French being the Language she did generally write in There was one particularly wherein she tells her That her long Imprisonment had brought her to a Dropsical Swelling in her Legs and other Diseases that for the Honour of her Sex she â—orbears to commit to Paper And concludes thus Your most Affectionate Sister and Cousin and the most miserable Princess that ever wore a Crown When such Letters as these had no influence upon Queen Elizabeth it may reasonably be concluded That nothing but Self-Preservation could oblige her to carry her Resentments so far as she did To sum up the Character of this Renowned Queen in a few words She found the Kingdom at her coming to the Throne in a most afflicted condition embroil'd on the one side with a Scotch and on the other with a French War the Crown overcharg'd with her Father's and Brother's Debts its Treasure exhausted the People distracted with different Opinions in Religion her self without Friends with a controverted Title and strengthen'd with no Alliance abroad After one of the longest Reigns that ever was she died in Peace leaving her Countrey Potent at Sea and Rich in People and Trade her Father's and her Brother's Debts paid the Crown without any Incumbrance a great Treasure in the Exchequer the Coin brought to a true Standard Religion settled upon a regular and lasting Basis her self having been admir'd and fear'd by all her Neighbouring Princes and her Friendship courted by Monarchs that had scarce ever before any further knowledge of England but the Name So that her Successor had good reason to say of her That she was one who in Wisdom and Felicity of Government surpass'd all Princes since the days of Augustus After all To the Reproach of those she had made great and happy she was but ill attended in her last Sickness and near her Death forsaken by all but three or four Persons every body making haste to adore the Rising Sun With Queen Elizabeth dy'd in a great part the Glory and Fortune of the English Nation and the succeeding Reigns serv'd only to render hers the more Ilustrious As she was far from invading the Liberties of her Subjects so she was careful to maintain and preserve her own just Prerogative nor did ever any Prince that sat upon the English Throne carry the true and essential parts of Royalty further But at the same time the whole Conduct of her Life plac'd her beyond the Suspicion of ever having sought Greatness for any other end than to make her People share with her in it It was not so with the Prince that succeeded her The Reign of K. Iames. He was the more fond of Prerogative because he had been kept short of it in his Native Country He grasp'd at an Immoderate Power but with an ill Grace and if we believe the Historians of that time with a design to make his People little If so he had his Wish for from his first Accession to the Crown the Reputation of England began sensibly to sink and Two Kingdoms which disunited had made each of them apart a considerable Figure in the World now when united under one King fell short of the Reputation which the least of them had in former Ages The latter Years of King Iames fill'd our Annals with little else but Misfortunes at home and abroad The Loss of the Palatinate and the Ruin of the Protestants in Bohemia through his Negligence the Trick that was put upon him by the House of Austria in the business of the Spanish Match and the continued Struggle betwixt him and his Parliament about Redress of Grievances were things that help'd on to lessen his Credit abroad and imbitter the Minds of his Subjects at home Repenting of these unlucky Measures too late King Iames went off
a Numerous and Splendid Train of Persons of Quality among whom was a Prince of the Blood and Muncini Mazarine 's Nephew who brought a Letter from his Uncle to the Protector full of the highest Expressions of Respect and assuring his Highness That being within view of the English Shore nothing but the King's Indisposition who lay then ill of the Small-Pox at Calais could have hinder'd him to come over to England that he might enjoy the Honour of waiting upon one of the Greatest Men that ever was and whom next to his Master his greatest Ambition was to serve But being depriv'd of so great a happiness he had sent the Person that was nearest to him in Blood to assure him of the profound Veneration he had for his Person and how much he was resolv'd to the utmost of his power to cultivate a perpetual Amity and Friendship betwixt his Master and him Few Princes ever bore their Character higher upon all occasions than Oliver Cromwell especially in his Treaties with Crown'd Heads And it 's a thing without Example that 's mention'd by one of the best-inform'd Historians of the Age Puffendorf in the Life of the late Elector of Brandenburgh That in Cromwell's League with France against Spain he would not allow the French King to call himself King of France but of the French whereas he took to himself not only the Title of Protector of England but likewise of France And which is yet more surprizing and which can hardly be believ'd but for the Authority of the Author Puffendorf de Rebus Gestis Fredâ—rici Wilhelmi Electoris Brandenburgici p. 313. Id porro Bellum Protectoris in Hispanos adeo opportunum Gallo accedebat ut summo Studio istum faedore sibi innectere studeret etiam concesso ut Cromwellus eundem Gaâ—â—orum Regem non Galliarum nuncuparet aliâs ipse Protectoris quoque Franciae vocabulum ficut Angliae assumpturus Simul pateretur Cromwellum Instrumento suo Nomen titulumque ante Gallicum ponere whose own Words are in the Margin In the Instrument of the Treaty the Protector 's Name was put before the French King's It 's true France was then under a Minority and was not arriv'd at that Greatness to which it has since attain'd Towards which Cromwell contributed not a little by that League with France against Spain being the falsest Step he ever made with respect to the Tranquility of Europe As every thing did contribute to the Fall of King Charles I. so did every thing contribute to the Rise of Cromwell And as there was no design at first against the King's Life so it 's probable that Cromwell had no thoughts for a long time of ever arriving at what he afterwards was It is known he was once in Treaty with the King after the Army had carried his Majesty away from Holmby House to have Restor'd him to the Throne which probably he would have done if the Secret had not been like to take Vent by the Indiscretion of some about the King which push'd Cromwell on to prevent his own by the Ruin of the King It 's likewise certain that the Title of Protector did not satisfy his Ambition but that he aim'd to be King The Matter was for some time under Consideration both in his Mock-Parliament and Council of State in-so-far that a Crown was actually made and brought to Whitehall for that purpose But the Aversion he found in the Army against it and the fear of the Commonwealth-Party oblig'd him to lay the Thoughts of it aside at least for that time Yet it 's probable these high Aims did not dye but with himself For to be able with the help of Spanish Gold to carry on his Design in England without depending upon a Parliament for Money is thought was the true Motive of his Attempt upon St. Domingo which was the only Action of War he fail'd in But notwithstanding his specious Pretences to the contrary Cromwell invaded and betrayed the Liberties of his Countrey and acted a more Tyrannical and Arbitrary Part than all the Kings of England together had done since the Norman Conquest And yet after all his Good Fortune accompanied him to the last for after a long Chain of Success he died in Peace and in the Arms of his Friends was buried among the Kings with a Royal Pomp and his Death condol'd by the Greatest Princes and States of Christendom in Solemn Embassies to his Son But this is not all for whatever Reasons the House of Austria had to hate the Memory of Cromwell yet his causing the Portugal Ambassador's Brother to be Executed for a Tumult in London notwithstanding his Plea of being a Publick Minister as well as his Brother was near Twenty Years after Cromwell's Death brought as a Precedent by the present Emperor to justify his Arresting and carrying off the Prince of Furstenburgh at the Treaty of Cologne notwithstanding Furstenburgh's being a Plenipotentiary for the Elector of that Name And in the Printed Manifesto publish'd by the Emperor upon that occasion this Piece of Cromwellâ—s Justice in executing the Portuguese Gentleman is related at large To sum up Cromwell's Character it 's observable That as the Ides of March were equally Fortunate and Fatal to Iulius Caesar another Famous Invader of the Liberties of his Countrey so was the Third of September to Oliver Cromwell For on that Day he was Bornâ— on that Day he fought the Three Great Battels of Marston-Moor Worcester and Dunbar and on that Day he died Cromwell died in the peaceable Possession of the Sovereign Power though disguis'd under another Name and left it to a Son that had neither Heart nor Abilities to keep it The Genius of the Nation return'd to its Natural Byass and Monarchy was so much interwoven with the Laws Customs and the first Threads of the English Constitution that it was altogether impossible it could be ever totally worn out Our Ancestors had wisely settled themselves upon that Bottom and those very men that some Years before had justled out Monarchy upon the account of its Encroachments upon the Rights of the People were become as zealous now to restore it again upon the Encroachments that the assuming part of the People had made of late upon the Rights of their Fellow-Subjects For near Two Years together after Cromwell's Death the Government of England underwent various Shapes and every Month almost produc'd a New Scheme till in the end all these Convulsions co-operated to turn the Nation again upon its True and Ancient Basis. Thence it was that the Son of King Charles the First The Restoration of King Charles II. after Ten Years Exile was restor'd to his Father's Throne in the Year 1660 without Blood or any remarkable Opposition This Revolution was the more to be admir'd since not only all Attempts to bring King Charles back by Force of Arms prov'd ineffectual but that notwithstanding upon Cromwell's Death every thing at home seem'd to concur to his
depress'd by the Envy of his Uncle the higher he rose in the Affections of the People till the breaking out of what was call'd the Protestant Plot The Protestant Plot. overwhelm'd not only him but a whole Party with him This Plot was in some part a greater Mystery than the Popish Plot had been before and had more dismal Effects The shatter'd Remains of English Liberty were then attack'd on every side and some of the Noblest Blood in the Nation was offer'd up a Sacrifice to the Manes of Popish Martyrs and made to atone for the Bill of Exclusion Swearing came once more into Fashion and a New Evidence-Office was erected at Whitehall But whereas the Witnesses of the Popish Plot were brow-beaten and discourag'd those of the Protestant Plot were highly encourag'd and instead of Iudges and Iuries that might perhaps boggle at half-Evidence as it fell out in the Prosecution of the former care was taken in this to pick out such as should stick at nothing to serve a Turn It was by such Iudges and Iuries that the Lord Russel and Mr. Sidney fell and the cutting off those Two Noble Lives may be reckon'd among the first Triumphs of the Duke's Party in England It 's true King Charles seem'd inclin'd to pardon both the one and the other and the very day the Lord Russel was executed some Words escap'd him that show'd sufficiently his Irresolution in that matter But by this time he was too far gone to make a handsome Retreat on a sudden and there was observable ever after a sensible Change in his Temper for from an Easiness and Debonairness that was natural to him he came at length to treat men with Hard Names and upon some occasions to express a Severity in his Disposition that he had been ever averse to before The rest of that Reign was one continued Invasion upon the Rights of the People and the Nation seem'd unwilling now to contend for them any more King Charles notwithstanding his great Abilities and Fitness for business appear'd to be quite lull'd asleep with the Charms of a new swell'd-up Prerogative while some of our Neighbours were playing their Game to the Prejudice of England abroad and the Duke's Creatures were managing all things to their own mind at home Nature prevail'd upon King Charles at length and the shame of seeing himself impos'd upon by others far short of him in Parts and that the Court was anticipating his Death by their Addresses to his Brother as if he had been already King did help to awake him out of his Slumber and brought him to lay a Project for a mighty Change in the Affairs of England which probably might have made both him and the Nation happy If he had liv'd but a few Weeks longer Monmouth had been recall'd to Court the Duke of York had been sent beyond Sea and a New Parliament conven'd But what further was to follow must be buried with his Ashes there being nothing left us but bare Suspicions of what might have been This is certain his Death came opportunely for the Duke and in such a Manner and with such Circumstances as will be a Problem to Posterity whether he died a Natural Death or was hasten'd to his Grave by Treachery In so nice a Point as this is The Death of King 〈◊〉 II. it becomes one that would write Impartially to set down with the exactest Fidelity every thing of Moment of either side that may determine the Reader in his Judgment without venturing to give his own This Rule I have set to my self in laying down the following Particulars It 's confest The Suspicions about the Manner of it consider'd few Princes come to dye a sudden Death but the World is apt to attribute it to Foul Play especially if attended with unusual Circumstances in the Time and Manner of it King Charles had a healthful Constitution beyond most men and took great care to preserve it by Diet and Exercise which naturally promise a long Life And it was more extraordinary to see such a Man dye before Threescore than another in the Bloom of Youth Now if he died a Natural Death it 's agreed by all that it must have been an Apoplexy This Disease seizes all the Vital Faculties at once and yet for the most part does not only give some short Warnings of its Approach by unusual Affections of the Head but many times is occasion'd by some evident preceding Cause In King Charles's Case there appear'd no visible Cause either near or remote to which with any certainty of Reason his Disease could be ascrib'd and the Forerunners of it were rather to be found in the Stomach and Bowels than in the Head For after he was aâ—bed he was over-heard to groan most of the Night And both then and next Morning before he fell into the Fit he complain'd first of a heavy Oppression in his Stomach and about his Heart and afterwards of a sharp Pain in those Parts all which Symptoms had but little relation to an Apoplexy That Morning there appear'd to every body about him a Ghastliness and Paleness in his Looks And when he sat down to be shav'd just before the Fit took him he could not sit straight as he us'd to do but continued in a stooping Posture with his Hand upon his Stomach till the Fit came After he had been brought out of it by opening a Vein he complain'd of a Racking Pain in his Stomach and of no Indisposition any where else And during the whole Time of his Sickness and even when he seem'd most Insensible he was observ'd to lay his Hand for the most part upon his Stomach in a moaning Posture and continued so to his Death And so violent was the Pain that when all hopes were gone the Physicians were desir'd to use all their Art to procure him an Easy Death So much for the Distemper it self There remains some things to be taken notice of that fell out before and after his Death A few days before he was taken ill King Charles being in Company where the present Posture of Affairs was discours'd of there escap'd him some warm Expressions about the uneasy Circumstances he was plung'd into and the ill Measures had been given him And how in a certain particular Affair he was pleas'd to mention he had been abus'd Adding in some Passion That if he liv'd but a Month longer he would find a way to make himself easy for the rest of his Life This Passage was whisper'd abroad next day and the Rumour of recalling the Duke of Monmouth and sending away the Duke of York came to take Air about the same time Indeed all things were making ready to put the latter in execution and there is reason to believe the King had intimated as much to the Duke himself for some of his Richest Furniture was put up and his chief Servants order'd to be in a readiness to attend their Master upon an Hour's warning and
becomes the Seed of new Lillies and the Motto was Lachrimor in Prolem I weep for Children Underneath was this Distich Pro Natis Iacobe gemis Flos candide Regum Hos Natura Tibi si neget Astra dabunt Dost thou sigh for Children O James thou best of Kings If Nature denies Heaven will grant them There was one Inscription more this Author takes notice of which being one of the most unaccountable things of that kind afforded matter for the Wits of Rome to descant upon Though the Words are ill chose and strangely harsh yet it 's certain the Fathers had a good meaning in them and they refer to King Iames's Influence upon his Brother to turn Roman-Catholick at his death The Inscription runs thus Jacobo Secundo Angliae Regi Quod ipso Vitae Exemplo preunte Et impellente Consiliis Carolus Frater Rex Mortem obierat admodum piam Regnaturus a tergo frater Alas Carolo addidit ET Vt Coelo dignum ET Dignum se Rege Legatum eligeret Fratrem Misit To King James II. King of England for having by his Example and his Counsel prevail'd with Charles his Brother to dye a Pious Death And being 'to succeed him He gave Wings to Charles and that he might make choice of an Ambassador worthy of Heaven and himself he sent his Brother I will not pretend to give the nice Sense of these words and tho I would I cannot there being such a perplexity in them But for the Expressions that follow I may venture to give them in English though they seem to be as much out of the ordinary Road as the former Nuncii ex Anglia proceres Retulerunt Regibus aliis Jacobum Regnantem Coelo Primus omnium retulit Carolus Nec Immerito Reges alii Legatos suscipiunt Mittuntque Principes Legatos Reges Deum Excipere decuit Jacobum mittere English Noblemen were sent to other Kings to acquaint them with King James's Accession to the Crown But Charles first of all brought the News of it to Heaven It was but reasonable For Kings to send and receive Princes as Ambassadors But It became God Almighty to receive and James to send no Ambassadors but Kings To see King Iames neglected at Rome in the Pontificat of Innocent XI The Mortifications K. Iames met with at Rome about his Marriage with the Princess of Esâ—ê was not so strange considering what has been said of his Antipathy to a Faction wherein that Prince was concern'd But that in the time of Innocent's Predecessor and when he was Duke of York he should be denied a common Favour which that Court seldom or never refuses to any one was a thing altogether unaccountable Yet so it was That he having sent the late Earl of Peterborough to Italy to Espouse the Princess of Modena in his Name all the Interest he could make was not able to obtain a Dispensation for the Marriage Genealogies of the Family of Mordant c. in a large Fol. p. 427 428. The account of this matter being so little known and that Earl's Book wherein he mentions it being so rare and as I am told but Twenty four Copies printed I shall give it in the Earl's own Words But now from Rome there was Advice says he by the Abbot of Angeo of the great difficulties that arose in the Consultations of this Affair meaning the Marriage The French Ambassador the Duke d' Estrees favour'd the Marriage with all the Power of the French Faction so did Cardinal Barberini and all the other Friends and Allies of the House of Estê But his Holiness himself was very averse and Cardinal Altieri who was the Governing Nephew a profess'd and violent Opposer The main pretence for this Obstinacy was the Duke of York's not declaring himself publickly of the Romish Church though they knew that he was of a long time reconcil'd to it But now at last continues the Earl of Peterborough came from Rome the Abbot of Angeo without the Dispensation which he could by no means obtain by reason that Cardinal Altieri was inflexible and Threats of Excommunication were issued out against any that should undertake to perform or celebrate the Marriage Whereupon we were all upon the fears and expectations of a total Rupture The Duchess of Modena her self a Zealous if not a Bigot Woman was in great pain about the part that might seem offensive to his Holiness or neglective of his Authority And the Young Princess took occasion from hence to support her unwillingness But in truth Cardinal Barberini upon whom the Duchess had great dependance and all the other Adherents and Relations of the House of Estê being every day more and more possess'd of the Honour and Interest they were like to find in this Alliance were scandaliz'd at the unreasonable Obstinacy of the Pope and his Nephew and did frankly advise the Duchess of Modena suddenly to make up and perfect the Marriage The Peace and Excuse of the thing being easier to be had after it was done than any present License to be obtain'd for doing it The Bishop of Modena was then applied to adds the Earl for the Performance But he refusing a poor English Iacobine was found Brother to Ierome White that after serv'd the Duchess who having nothing to lose and on whom the Terror of Excommunication did not so much prevail did undertake it and so he perform'd the Ceremony Thus far the Earl of Peterborough But to leave this Digression The true design of the Persecution of Dissenters in King Charles's time and to return to our History It was about this time that the Romish Cabal about King Iames began to play their Popular Engine and which was likely to do most Execution by weakning the National Establish'd Church and dividing Protestants among themselves when in the mean time the Roman-Catholicks were to be the only Gainers This was disguis'd under the specious Name of Liberty of Conscience And the very same Party that advis'd this Toleration were they that had push'd on all the Severities against the Protestant Dissenters in the former Reign with design to widen the Breach between them and the Church of England and to render the first more willing to swallow the Bait of Toleration whenever it should be offer'd to them They gain'd in a great part their End for the Dissenters were not so fond of Persecution and Ill Usage as to refuse a Liberty that was frankly offer'd them which neither their Prayers nor Tears could obtain before Nor did they think it good manners to enquire too narrowly how that Liberty came about as long as they were shelter'd thereby from the Oppressions they lay under The Church of England saw through all this Contrivance and fear'd the Consequences The Protestant Dissenters were more pitied now in their seeming Prosperity than ever they had been in their real Adversity Some that had been zealous before in putting the Penal Laws in execution against them did now see their
might be more serviceable to his Majesty and the College Notwithstanding this humble and submissive Address King Iames signified his Pleasure to them That he expected to be obey'd Upon which the Fellows being oblig'd by the Statutes of their Society to which they were sworn not to delay the Election longer than such a day and Fermer being a Person they could not chuse without incurring the Sin of Perjury they proceeded to Election and chose Dr. Hough now Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry their President Hereupon the New President and Fellows were cited before the Ecclesiastical Commission for disobeying the King's Mandate And notwithstanding they made it appear by their Answer plac'd at length in the Appendix Appendix Numb 19. That they could not comply with that Mandate without Breach of their Oath and that there was no room left for the King to dispense with that Oath because in the Oath it self they were sworn not to make use of any such Dispensation nor in any sort consent thereto Yet against all Law the Ecclesiastical Commissioners did by their Sentence deprive Dr. Hough of his Presidentship and suspended two of the Fellows from their Fellowships While the King at the same time Inhibited the College to elect or admit any person whatsoever into any Fellowship or any other Place or Office in the said College till his further Pleasure The Court finding by this time that Fermer was one of so profligate a Life that though he had promis'd to declare himself Roman-Catholick upon his Promotion to that place they began to be asham'd of him And therefore instead of insisting on the former Mandamus in his favour there was another granted in favour of Dr. Parker then Bishop of Oxford one of the Creatures of the Court and who they knew would stick at nothing to serve a Turn The Place of President being already in a Legal manner fill'd up by the Election of Dr. Hough which though it had not been yet the Bishop of Oxford was likewise incapable by the Statutes of the College of being elected The Fellows did humbly offer a very pathetick Petition to his Majesty mention'd at length in the Appendix Appendix Numb 20. in which they set forth how inexpressible an Affliction it was to them to find themselves reduc'd to such an extremity that either they must disobey his Majesty's Commands contrary to their Inclinations and that constant course of Loyalty which they had ever shew'd hithertâ— upon all occasions or else break their Founders Statutes and deliberately perjure themselves Then they mention'd the Statutes and the Oaths that every one of them had taken at their Admission into their Fellowships and concluded with an humble Prayer to his Majesty To give them leave to lay their Case and Themselves at his Majesty's Royal Feet earnestly beseeching his Sacred Majesty to extend to them his humble Petitioners that Grace and Tenderness which he had vouchsaf'd to all his other Subjects All this Submission was in vain For the Ecclesiastical Commissioners by their final Decree and Sentence depriv'd and expell'd from their Fellowships all the Fellows of Magdalen College but Three that had complied with Breach of Oath being Twenty five in number And to push their Injustice yet further they did by another Sentence decree and declare That Dr. Hough who had been depriv'd before and the said Twenty five Fellows should be incapable of receiving or being admitted into any Ecclesiastical Dignity Benefice or Promotion And such of them who were not yet in Holy Orders they adjudg'd incapable of receiving or being admitted into the same Thus by a Decree of an Illegal Court were a Set of Worthy and Learned Men turn'd out of their Freeholds merely for not obeying an Arbitrary Command which was directly against their Consciences And thus was King Iames prevail'd with by a Headstrong Party to assume a Power not only to dispense with Laws but to make void Oaths The first Declaration for Liberty of Conscience was not thought a sufficient Stretch of Power The Second Declaration for Liberty of Conscience and therefore King Iames issued out another of a much higher Strain in which the Roman-Catholicks were chiefly included and indeed it was for their sake alone it was granted To render the Church of England accessary to their own Ruin The Order of Council upon it there was an Order of Council made upon the latter commanding it to be read at the usual times of Divine Service in all Churches and Chappels throughout the Kingdom and ordering the Bishops to cause it to be sent and distributed throughout their several and respective Diocesses to be read accordingly The Clergy of the Church of England had reason to take it for the greatest Hardship and Oppression that could be put upon them to be commanded to read from their Pulpits a Declaration they knew to be against Law and which in its Nature and Design was levell'd against their own Interest and that of their Religion Some of them through Fear or Mistake and others to make their Court complied but the Generality refus'd to obey so unjust a Command The Romish Party had their Ends in it for their Refusal laid them open to the severe Lashes of the Ecclesiastical Commission and accordingly every one that had not read the Declaration in their Churches were order'd to be prosecuted before that inexorable Tribunal where they were infallibly to expect to be depriv'd And so most of the Benefices in England must have been made vacant for a new kind of Incumbents But the Scene chang'd before all this could be brought about For King Iames urg'd on by his Fate and by a restless Party about him came at this time to level a Blow against the Archbishop of Canterbury and Six of his Suffragan Bishops that awaken'd the People of England to shake off their Chains and implore Foreign Assistance to retrieve the dying Liberties of their Countrey These Seven Bishops being sensible The Affair of the Seven Bishops as most of the Nation was of what was originally aim'd at in these two Declarations for Liberty of Conscience did consult together about the humblest manner to lay before King Iames the Reasons why they could not comply with the Order of Council Having got leave to attend him they deliver'd to him with the greatest Submission a Petition in behalf of themselves and their absent Brethren and in the name of the Clergy of their respective Diocesses humbly representing That their unwillingness did not proceed from any want of Duty and Obedience to his Majesty nor from any want of due Tenderness to Dissenters in relation to whom they were willing to come to such a Temper as should be thought fit when that Matter should be consider'd in Parliament and Convocation But among a great many other Considerations from this especially Because That Declaration was founded upon such a Dispensing Power as had been often declar'd Illegal in Parliament and was a matter of
Charles Stuart and the whole Line of the late King James and of every other person as a single person pretending to the Government of these Nations of England Scotland and Ireland and the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging And that I will by the grace and assistance of Almighty God be true faithful and constant to this Commonwealth against any King single person and House of Peers and every of them and hereunto I subscribe my Name NUMB. XII King James the IId's promising Speech to the Parliament May 30. 1685. My Lords and Gentlemen I Thank you very heartily for the Bill you have presented me this Day and I assure you the Readiness and Chearfulness that hath attended the Dispatch of it is as acceptable to me as the Bill it self After so happy a beginning you may believe I would not call upon you unnecessarily for an extraordinary Supply But when I tell you the Stores of the Navy are extreamly exhausted That the Anticipations upon several Branches of the Revenue are great and burthensome and the Debts of the King my Brother to his Servants and Family are such as deserve Compassion That the Rebellion in Scotland without putting more Weight upon it than it really deserves must oblige me to a considerable Expence extraordinary I am sure such Considerations will move you to give me an Aid to provide for those things wherein the Security the Ease and the Happiness of my Government are so much concern'd But above all I must recommend to you the Care of the Navy the Strength and Glory of this Nation That you will put it into such a Condition as will make us considerable and respected abroad I cannot express my Concerns upon this occasion more suitable to my own Thoughts of it than by assuring you I have a true English Heart as jealous of the Honour of the Nation as you can be And I please my self with the hopes that by God's Blessing and your Assistance I may carry its Reputation yet higher in the World than ever it has been in the time of any of my Ancestors And as I will not call upon you for Supplies but when they are of publick Use and Advantage so I promise you That what you give me upon such Occasions shall be managed with good Husbandry And I will take care it shall be employed to the Uses for which I ask them NUMB. XIII Two Remarkable Letters of a Foreign Minister to their Ambassador in England relating to King Iames's precedeing Speech Translated from the Originals Paris June 29. 1685. Monsieur THE Copy of his B. M.'s Speech to the Parliament inclos'd in yours of the 9 th Instant S. V. affords sufficient matter of thoughts here It is of a strain that looks quite contrary to what we expected or what you your self in yours of the 11 th of the last Month made us believe it would be The King can scarce believe there is any Change in the Affections of that Prince towards him And yet knows not what to make of that new Manner of expressing himself on so publick an Occasion If he and his Parliament come to a cordial Trust in one another it may probably change all the Measures we have been so long concerting for the Glory of our Monarch and the Establishment of the Catholick Religion For my own part I hope the Accession of a Crown has not lessen'd the Zeal that on all occasions appear'd in him when but Duke of York Nor will the King 's inviolable attachment to the Interest of the Duke in the most difficult Emergents permit him now when King to forget his Obligations and Engagements to him There is better things to be hop'd for from one that has run so great hazards upon the account of his Religion and who has so often express'd his Resentments of the good turns the King did him in his Brother's Life-time Yet it 's fit you take all possible care to search into the Motives and Advisers of this Speech And I am commanded to tell you That this is one of the greatest pieces of Service you can do his Majesty in this Iuncture There are not wanting some here that would attribute it to a Change in the King of England's Inclinations and they pretend to have Hints of it from some about his Person What truth is in this Suggestion you are to spare nothing to find out If the Parliament come once to settle a Revenue upon him such as may put him out of our Reverence your Business there will be the more difficult to manage for doubtless he must have Ambition and likewise a desire to please a Nation who had but an ill opinion of him before And nothing can be more taking with them than a Breach with us It will be strange indeed if in the Death of King Charles France has chang'd for the worse But whatever others fear I must once more confess for my self That I am of the same Opinion I was always of even that we must necessarily gain by the Change Your Bills are sent this Post. Nothing can be more earnestly recommended to you in his Majesty's Name than a narrow Enquiry into this Affair by Monsieur Your most humble Servant The other runs thus Iuly 8. 1694. Monsieur IT 's unlucky that hitherto you have not been able to find out what we are to expect from this Change in England In yours of the 13 th of the last Month S. V. you seem to call in question that King's Inclinations to the Common Cause and you surprize us with your Fears that he may come to forget his Obligations to the King With the same Post we receiv'd better News from a sure Hand yet you are to watch as narrowly as if your Fears were well grounded There is a great matter in dependance with relation to the Edict of Nants which must not be declar'd till that King's Inclinations be fully known And yet there is nothing in the world the King desires more eagerly to see done than it if once it might be done safely Receive inclos'd an Answer to every one of your Queries which make use of as occasion offers Only the last is referr'd to your own discretion it depending entirely upon your own knowledge of the Person If he can be brought in it will be a notable piece of Service Much may be known by enquiring exactly how the Prince of Orange stands in the King's Affections and how the Ministers are affected towards him For the Hollanders in general he seem'd on all occasions neither to love nor fear them nothing has fallen out of late to alter his mind On Friday Monsieur Less comes off who is to show you his Dispatches and you are to act in concert with him I am NUMB. XIV Some Passages out of the Duke of Monmouth's Pocket-Book that was seiz'd about him in the West An ORIGINAL L. Came to me at Eleven at Night from 29. Octob. 13. Told me 29 could never be brought to
For my part Iâ—ll run the hazard of being thought any thing rather than a Rash Inconsiderate Man And to tell you my thoughts without disguise I am now so much in love with a Retir'd Life that I 'm never like to be fond of making a Bustle in the World again I have much more to say but the Post cannot stay and I refer the rest till meeting being entirely Yours NUMB. XVI King James the IId's Remarkable Speech to the Parliament after the Duke of Monmouth's Defeat My Lords and Gentlemen AFter the Storm that seem'd to be coming upon us when we parted last I am glad to meet you all again in so great Peace and Quietness God Almighty be praised by whose Blessing that Rebellion was supprest But when I reflect what an Inconsiderable Number of Men began it and how long they carried it on without any opposition I hope every body will be convinc'd That the Militia which hath hitherto been so much depended on is not sufficient for such occasions and that there is nothing but a good Force of well-disciplin'd Troops in constant Pay that can defend us from such as either at home or abroad are dispos'd to disturb us And in truth my Concern for the Peace and Quiet of my Subjects as well as for the Safety of the Government made me think it necessary to increase the Number to the Proportion I have done This I ow'd as well to the Honour as to the Security of the Nation whose Reputation was so infinitely expos'd to all our Neighbours by having lain open to this late wretched Attempt that it is not to be repaired without keeping such a Body of Men on foot that none may ever have the thought again of finding us so miserably unprovided It is for the Support of this great Charge which is now more than double to what it was that I ask your Assistance in giving me a Supply answerable to the Expence it brings along with it And I cannot doubt but what I have begun so much for the Honour and Defence of the Government will be continued by you with all the Chearfulness and Readiness that is requisite for a Work of so great Importance Let no man take exception that there are some Officers in the Army not qualified according to the late Tests for their Employments The Gentlemen I must tell you are most of them well known to me and having formerly serv'd with me in several Occasions and always approv'd the Loyalty of their Principles by their Practice I think them fit now to be employ'd under me And will deal plainly with you That after having had the benefit of their Services in such time of need and danger I will neither expose them to Disgrace nor my self to the want of them if there should be another Rebellion to make them necessary to me I am afraid some men may be so wicked to hope and expect that a difference may happen between you and me upon this Occasion But when you consider what Advantages have arisen to us in a few Months by the good understanding we have hitherto had what wonderful Effects it hath already produced in the Change of the whole Scene of Affairs abroad so much more to the Honour of the Nation and the Figure it ought to make in the World and that nothing can hinder a further Progress in this way to all our satisfactions but Fears and Jealousies amongst our selves I will not apprehend that such a Misfortune can befal us as a Division or but a Coldness between me and you nor that any thing can shake you in your Steadiness and Loyalty to me who by God's Blessing will ever make you all Returns of Kindness and Protection with a Resolution to venture even my own Life in the Defence of the true Interest of this Kingdom NUMB. XVII Some Passages of a Letter from a Foreign Minister to their Ambassador in England upon the occasion of the King's Speech immediately preceding dated November 29. 1685. Done from the ORIGINAL WE are now out of pain about the King's Intentions This last Speech to the Parliament has sufficiently clear'd all our Doubts together with what has writ upon that Subject It 's no more than what I really expected for I had always a better opinion of him than to think he could bear tamely the Fetters which Hereticks would endeavour to impose upon him For the time to come I hope he will act en Maistre Your Conduct there pleases extreamly and above all your last Dispatch about what pass'd at your Audience All you have promis'd shall be made good to a Tittle and it 's hop'd that others will be as zealous to keep their Promises to us The Inclos'd you must deliver but not till you see the Person has deserv'd it for I am more and more persuaded as well as you that we cannot be too much upon the Reserve with him c. NUMB. XVIII The Harangue of the Rector of the Iesuits College at Rome to the Earl of Castlemain upon his Embassy to the Pope IN tanto strepitu Mundi plaudentis gratulantisque Tuo in Vrbem adventui Nouveau Voyage d' Italie p. 259 260. hoc est immortalibus JACOBI II. Magnae Britanniae Regis in Catholicam Ecclesiam meritis Gregorianum hoc Palladis Athenaeum nec debuit tacere nec potuit Quamobrem ego Literariae hujus Vniversitatis nomine primò gratulor INNOCENT XI felicitati quòd Ipso regnante Pontificio accesserit Diademati Augusta haec Triumphalis Corona unde illud cum Apostolo usurpare jure Meritò valeat Gaudium meum Corona mea Hunc laetissimum ferre Mortalibus Diem longissimi aevi spatio distulerunt Superi tùm ut diuturnis Terrarum votis ingentia haec Coeli dona responderent tùm ut simul invenirent regnantem in Anglia Iacobum II. Romae Innocentium XI Gratulor quoque Christiano Orbi necnon Catholicis Regibus quod tanto Dominatore Britannorum Sceptra gerente tam grande advenerit Ipsorum Coronis adversus Christiani nominis hostes munimentum Orthodoxae Fidei ornamentum Imminent quippe ab invictissimi Regis Clâ—ssibus tum Lybicis praedonibus tum Asiae Palestinae Littoribus flammarum procellae magis metuendae quà m Maris At Tibi Oceani Regina Magna Britannia quae à nostro olim Orbe divisa nunc gemini faâ—is commercia Mundi quid non liceat ominari faustitatis sub tanto Principe Erigespes erige vota nec timeas si maxima sed nisi maxima Non libet in die hac faustissima commemâ—rare quà m lugubres passa fueris unius ampliûs saeculi spatio toto Orle Terrarum admirante atque ingemiscente catastrophas Sed si haec una erat via quâ Iacobus II. Britanniae solium ascenderet prope est ut exclamen tanti fuisse Profectò invidebit â—ibi Posteritas non modò praesentium temporum felicitatem sed praeteritorum Calamitates tam grandi mercede redemptas